Classes 2017

Explorations in Double TwillTwo-hour lecture at the Complex Weavers Southeast Gathering. June 17-18, 2017, at the Yadkin Valley Fiber Room. For more information on the Gathering, click on above link.

Spin Your Own YarnJan. 17 - Mar. 13. Learn to use the simple drop spindle to spin your own woolen yarn for knitting, crochet, or weaving. This hand tool of prehistoric origin is inexpensive, portable, and easy to use. Create a mid-weight yarn suitable for garments, accessories, and household items. Pack all your spinning supplies in a lunchbag-sized tote and take it with you on vacation! Click on Winter Brochure 2017.

Books

The Woven Pixel: Designing for Jacquard and Dobby Looms Using Photoshop®Co-authored by Alice Schlein and Bhakti Ziek. 362 pages, many illustrations. Now available for free download on handweaving.net. The accompanying CD with 1400 pattern presets is not included with the free download, but may be purchased separately. Email me at aschlein[at]att[dot]net for more information.

Network Drafting: An IntroductionBy Alice Schlein. Break away from the block. Curves for your dobby loom. Originally published in 1994, now available as print-on-demand from www.lulu.com.

Monographs

Lampas for Shaft LoomsClass notes from Complex Weavers Seminars 2016, newly revised and formatted, in pdf form for download. A review of methods for designing your own lampas fabrics for treadle looms, table looms, and dobbies, eight shafts and above. Over 90 color photos of actual fabrics with drafts. Includes info on pickup lampas and a lampas bibliography. View on a computer, or print out one copy for your own use. USD$21. via PayPal. Email aschlein[at]att[dot]net for ordering info.

A Crepe Is Not Just a Pancake52 pages of text, b&w and color diagrams, and drafts for multishaft tradle & dobby looms. Many color photos of actual cloth. Methods for drafting your own crepe weaves. Annotated bibliography. Pdf available for immediate download. $21. USD. Payment by PayPal. Email me at aschlein[at]att[dot]net for payment instructions.

Echo Weave Based on the 1996 article in Weaver's, Issue 32. With brand new diagrams and high resolution scans of original fabrics. Pdf available for immediate download. $7. USD. Payment by PayPal. Email me at aschlein[at]att[dot]net for payment instructions.

Landscaping

April 23, 2016

The new Dotz warp is behaving nicely, after a last-minute insertion of floating selvedges. At 28 epi and 30 ppi the jeans twill works well in 10/2 cotton. Eight shafts.

I think I'll try a few dishtowels with light-colored wefts, and then move on to dark wefts. The relationship of sides vs. middles will change dramatically. At least that's what I'm expecting. I'm enjoying the way the warp stripes drift in and out as they pass through the networked circles (dotz).

Other things that are giving me pleasure right now: the white roses, which started to bloom at the side door this week.

March 10, 2016

My neighbor is an avid gardener, and her daffodil display is especially good this year. Lucky me! I get to see this every morning:

Meanwhile, back in the studio, my daily samples of the silk project continue. I started out with a sett of 36 epi, which was way too dense. Then I went down to 30 epi. Still not good. Finally at 24 epi things were looking better, but my beat was still to heavy. The backstory: a cone of 12-strand natural silk, which had sat on the shelf for years, was begging to be used. I combined it with a cone of fine cocoa worsted wool for a 4-color doubleweave fabric. The wefts were gold silk noil and a singles beige shetland. The idea was to combine these four earthy colors for an understated agate effect.

My daily routine was 1. weave a sample; 2. cut it off and wash it; 3. wait for it to dry and evaluate it. Here's the result of the first three days.

Getting closer. I think the one that's on the loom now is the best one and I'm ready to warp up the full project. But I'll wash it first and then make a final decision.

May 26, 2015

The bumpy sample is finished. Because the weft yarns were relatively bulky, the aspect ratio of the design is elongated. This makes little difference to me when I use geometric designs--it only becomes important when recognizable real world images are used. So I just barrel along. First, here is the elongated sample:

Then I began another sample, same file, with yarns of smaller grist. Here you can see difference in aspect ratio. The gray sample is more compressed vertically:

The second secondary weft is metallic in the new sample - it shows as little sparkly donuts, or fireflies if you will. I found it difficult to photograph; I wanted you to see the sparkly effect, but it doesn't show up well here.

Time to call in the big guns. Thanks, Bruce, for the following photo, with all the sparkly goodness:

These days I feel like shouting, "Your 24-hour lampas station, all lampas, all the time." But I do get outdoors once in a while. I present for your enjoyment the dappled shadows outside my studio door. Any resemblance to lampas is purely coincidental.

And then of course there is always an escape to Ampersand House, which in this season is adorned with roses and gardenia. Good to take a break and do some reading here.

October 09, 2014

Green: Yesterday I was able to snatch a quiet hour in Ampersand House, and finished reading Enigma: The Battle for the Code by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore. Espionage! Submarines! Smart men and women! Loved it.

Yellow: The camellias at the side of the house have started blooming.

Pink: Trying to speed up my warping technique with these little tablet woven bands. It's coming along. I think this one looks like snakeskin (if there are any pink snakes, that is).

May 08, 2014

Next Friday, May 16 at 10:30 AM, I'll be giving a lecture entitled "The Woven Pixel: From Computer to Loom" at the Mint Museum in Charlotte NC. The lecture is sponsored by the Friends of the Mint, and the public is invited. I'll be talking about my development as a weaver and describing the process of going from concept to fabric on the jacquard handloom. I hope some of you can be there.

Yesterday I took the day off and joined Bruce's photography class at the Clemson Botanical Garden. I was the only one without a camera (not counting my mobile phone), but I did take a sketchbook and an assortment of tools. Great fun! I sat on a sidewalk in the shade to paint some irises, and even managed to get upright again without any help.

And in my neighborhood, everyone has clematis climbing on their mailboxes. It really slows me down on my walk; I feel compelled to photograph all the good ones.

April 23, 2013

You will recognize Ms. Parsley in green, in my own handwriting, in satin weave; the other two are granite weave. The middle towel is actually a cross between orange and pink, but the iPhone has its own ideas:

The phone does like to go on walks, especially during this gorgeous spring weather. A few blocks from home, in the yard of a badly neglected & apparently abandoned house, I found this humongous dogwood…

…the blossom must have been at least three inches across. And in the same yard, this equally impressive azalea:

Around these parts, the less you pamper the azaleas, the better they do. Case rested.